


Lean On Me

by notjustanotherfangirl



Series: 9-1-1 Lone Star Week 2020 [2]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: 9-1-1 Lone Star Week, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Canon, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:48:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23994019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustanotherfangirl/pseuds/notjustanotherfangirl
Summary: Day 2 - Great DynamicsPrompt - I’ll be by your side----------"Judd responded.Then he didn’t anymore."----------Or, after losing the 126, Judd's hurting and Grace is going to be there for him, whether he likes it or not.
Relationships: Grace Ryder & TK Strand (9-1-1 Lone Star), Grace Ryder/Judd Ryder (9-1-1 Lone Star)
Series: 9-1-1 Lone Star Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1729732
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14
Collections: 9-1-1 Lone Star Week





	Lean On Me

**Author's Note:**

> I decided that I wanted to write about Grace and Judd for Day 2 because I love them and they really do have great dynamics, but then it ended up being kind of sad because it decided to take place while Judd was recovering after losing the original 126. I wanted to focus on Grace because I think she has a lot to deal with regarding the loss of the 126 crew too, and I haven't really seen anyone talk about that. This is not exactly in her perspective since I'm not using "I"s, but it is focusing on her and her feelings.
> 
> It didn't really go where I had planned for it to go, and it started to get deeper and longer than I really had time to complete, so I decided to break this up into a few chapters, and I'm planning on 4 short chapters right now. I'll post the first chapter today, and come back to finish it next week, probably.
> 
> Also, completely unintentionally, this series is apparently going to be titled after songs now, and this fic's song is "Lean On Me," by Bill Withers. The chapter titles are also lyrics from the song.

“Ladder 126, do you copy?   
“Ladder 126, please respond.   
“Ladder 126!   
“Ladder 126.”

Grace didn’t remember standing up. She didn’t remember her supervisor coming to check on her. She didn’t remember when she was escorted away from her desk, or when someone else took her spot. She didn’t remember when she collapsed on the floor.

What Grace did remember was this: it was a normal call. She directed the 126 crew to the fire, they got to work. Then she got another call, like normal, and it was a man. The man said there was fertilizer in the facility. She alerted the 126, as she should. Judd responded.

Then he didn’t anymore.

She couldn’t think. She couldn’t focus on any of the people around her. 

Because Judd didn’t respond. Judd always responds to her. Because Judd could be dead. He could be seriously injured. He could be dead.

She’s trained to stay calm when responding to emergencies. She even has practice with waiting for Judd to respond after he’s been in danger. But it has never been like this.

Someone was talking to her. She should probably pay attention. She probably needed to respond.

Finally, she pulled herself together. Someone had said “Judd.”

“What- What happened? What about Judd?”

“Oh, you’re back with us, Grace. Good.”

“What happened?” she asked, heart beating out of her chest, barely breathing, as she waited to hear an update on her husband.

“The ammonium nitrate in the facility caught fire, and the whole compound exploded. The back-up trucks were almost there to assist when it happened. They managed to contain the fire. Judd must have been far enough away that he only got knocked over and burned slightly, but the rest of the 126 was right there when it exploded. Judd was the only survivor, Grace.”

“Oh my…”

“They found him laid out just outside of where the fires were burning. He’s on the way to the hospital now, and he’s going to need you, girl. Go grab your stuff and we’ll have an officer escort you.”

“But, I can-”

“Don’t argue, Gracie. We don’t want you driving right now, not after the shock you just had. He’ll be waiting downstairs. You go be there for your husband, and I will come check on you both after my shift ends. If you need a ride home then, I’ll drive you.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course. We’ve got a lot to do here, but we’ll survive without you for a while. Take all the time you need, take care of your husband.”

“Seriously, thank you.”

\---------------

Grace barely remembered the ride to the hospital. She thought the officer that drove her might have been Michelle’s friend, but she wasn’t sure. She couldn’t stop herself from imagining all the ways Judd could have been hurt. 

And all the ways that he was.

She couldn’t believe that the rest of the crew was gone. That Judd was the only one left of their little band of brothers, all because he just happened to be a little further away than the others.

She could have lost her husband. Several of her friends did lose their husbands. Several kids lost their fathers.

And it doesn’t seem real. Maybe it will soon, but now that she’s had her breakdown on the floor of her supervisor’s office, she doesn’t feel like any of this could actually be happening. It’s like, any minute, she’ll be going back home and the house will be full of the team, exhausted after a long day, but content that they saved lives and put out fires.

But no, here she is at the hospital, and maybe she thanked the officer, maybe she didn’t, but he escorted her all the way to where Judd was, and maybe he asked if she was okay. She thinks she responded, but mostly, she was just taking in the sight of him. Judd. Safe. A little singed where his gear didn’t protect him. But there he was.

Judd was asleep when she walked in the room, so she took a moment to assess him. To focus on all the monitors and wires. The IV, the heart monitors. The vulnerable look on his sleeping face. Not yet aware of all that he had lost.

And she thought.

\--------------

Judd had been home from the hospital for a few days now, and they had just gotten home from attending the funerals. She knew he wasn’t okay, but he had barely said a word since he got home.

Anyone who knew Judd would know that he didn’t stay quiet like this. He could be patient when he needed to, and he didn’t babble or talk all the time, but he didn’t just stay quiet. It wasn’t right.

Grace didn’t know what to do. She knew he would have to go to therapy if he ever wanted to work for the Austin Fire Department again. But no one knew what was going to happen to the 126. The only ones left were Michelle’s team. They had been on a call in the opposite direction, and another available ambulance had arrived shortly after the other trucks had arrived to contain the fire.

But Judd was all that was left of the crew from Ladder 126. And he was struggling.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this fic, and that I didn't make you cry too much. I don't know if I'll be posting tomorrow, but then, I didn't know I would be posting these first two days, so I guess I can't say I won't.


End file.
